This invention relates an applique for a pillar area of a vehicle. More particular, this invention relates to a multi-component polymer based applique for an A-pillar area of a vehicle such as a car, pick-up truck, minivan, or sport utility vehicle (SUV).
An applique is a decorative member or cover which is fastened to a vehicle surface or structure to add styling, to functionally cover aesthetically non-pleasing portions of a vehicle, and/or to create a sort of weather seal. Conventional appliques are made of metal and/or plastic. For example, it is know to apply appliques over the external A-pillar areas of a vehicle. While the applique may be attached directly to the A-pillar itself, it is also possible to attach an A-pillar applique to door sheet metal or some other structure so that the applique is not directly contacting the pillar itself. A pillar is known in the art as a structural member provided to support the structure of a vehicle.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional automobile. The vehicle of FIG. 1 includes front and rear assemblies 1 and 3 having front and rear windows 5 and 7, respectively. The vehicle A-pillar area, generally designated by reference numeral 11, is located at least partially between the front door and the windshield. Meanwhile, the vehicle B-pillar is generally designated by reference numeral 9, and the vehicle C-pillar is generally designated by reference numeral 13.
Because of the high visibility of the A-pillar areas, appliques are commonly used to provide an aesthetically pleasing surface and/or seal on or proximate the A-pillar. Such appliques are used, for example, to cover manufacturing imperfections, create a seal adjacent the door and/or windshield, or the like.
Conventional A-pillar appliques typically include a substrate which supports a flexible thermoplastic elastomer. In making conventional A-pillar appliques, the thermoplastic elastomer portion of the applique is often co-extruded onto the metal substrate portion of the applique, with the co-extruded part thereafter being bent and/or cut into the desired shape. Unfortunately, this tends to be a very costly process.
Other conventional A-pillar appliques are manufactured by gluing the thermoplastic elastomer portion to the metal substrate using a separate adhesive layer. Unfortunately, such processes require the extra glue and/or adhesive, and sometimes tend to be messy and/or more costly.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there exists a need for a more efficient and/or easy-to-manufacture applique for pillar areas (e.g., A-pillar areas) of a vehicle(s).
An object of this invention is to provide an applique for a pillar area of a vehicle. The applique may be used at A-pillar areas of the vehicle, or at other pillar areas of a vehicle in alternative embodiments.
Another object of this invention is to provide a pillar applique including first and second different polymer based materials, one injection molded to the other during the manufacturing process. Thus, a separate adhesive is not needed between the two polymer based materials of the pillar applique.
Another object of this invention is to provide a pillar applique including a substrate portion and a thermoplastic elastomer portion. Each of the substrate portion and the thermoplastic elastomer portion are formed via injection molding in certain embodiments of the invention, and the thermoplastic elastomer portion may be injection molded over the substrate portion during its forming process (or vice versa) so that the two portions may be bonded to one another without the need for additional adhesive.
Another object of this invention is to fulfill one or more of the above listed objects.
Generally speaking, certain example embodiments of this invention fulfill one or more of the above-listed needs by providing an applique for use at a pillar area of a vehicle, the applique comprising:
an injection molded substrate including nylon and propylene;
an injection molded flexible thermoplastic elastomer portion including at least one flexible lip or leg for engaging a surface or edge of a vehicle window, and wherein said substrate and said thermoplastic elastomer portion are bonded together during an injection molding step; and
wherein said thermoplatic elastomer portion and said substrate are of different materials having different hardness values which are selected so that the thermoplastic elastomer portion and the substrate are molded or bonded to one another during the injection molding step without a separate adhesive layer therebetween.
Certain other embodiments of this invention fulfill one or more of the above-listed objects by providing a method of making a vehicle pillar applique, the method comprising:
a) injection molding one of: 1) a polymer inclusive substrate, and 2) a thermoplastic elastomer portion;
b) in a subsequent injection molding step, injection molding the other of 1) said polymer inclusive substrate, and 2) said thermoplastic elastomer portion, to the one injection molded instep a); and
c) attaching the applique to a vehicle proximate a pillar area thereof.